TN Supreme Court building recommended for national recognition

Jan. 31, 2014

Loading Photo Galleries ...

Written by

The lobby floor of the Tennessee Supreme Court building contains Tennessee cedar and Rose Grey marble. The building was built in 1936 and 1937 and was nominated for recognition among the National Register of Historic Places. / Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

The columns on the outside of the Tennessee Supreme Court building are Doric, which is the simplest of three types of classical columns. / Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

A cedar panel behind the chief justice's seat has a hand-carved Seal of the Supreme Court. In 1984, the drapes in the courtroom were updated for a film shoot. / Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

More

ADVERTISEMENT

Simple and restrained in its design, the Tennessee Supreme Court building could soon be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1936 and 1937 in the shadow of the Tennessee state Capitol, the building that houses the state’s highest court was nominated this month for recognition. The building was one of eight nominated from across the state this year and the only one in Middle Tennessee.

The 77-page application celebrates the court’s important civic standing and its significance as a New Deal project partially funded by the Public Works Administration.

Architecturally, it’s an example of the “stripped classicism” often carried out by city firm Marr and Holman, which also oversaw the more ornate art deco-style Nashville Post Office that is now Frist Center for the Visual Arts.

The four-story courthouse — with full basement — is modestly decorated, but it does feature limestone mined in quarries near Knoxville that’s known as “Tennessee Marble” because of how it can be polished.

The interior dials up the decor, using marble, bronze and walnut.

The building has undergone few changes and still has much of its original furniture, custom-made to fit the space. However, as the application states in a small footnote, the courtroom drapes were updated in 1984 by a film production crew while filming the movie “Marie,” one of three motion pictures shot on site. The others were “Last Dance” in 1995 and “Billy, the Early Years,” in 2008.